Trippe lights

[Guest JT]

What are the differences in Tippe jr and senior lights?

[palbuick]

I am not an expert on Trippe lts.

The senior liights have a long tapered shape. The Juniors have a shorter tapered back side. I think the juniors were first used in the late 30's.

Best i can do now

Jim Schilf

palbuick@aol.com

[Guest]

Also the Sr lites usually have a level in the top locking clamp. The Jrs are generally plain. However, people often switch top caps and put caps with levels on whatever light they have.

I have often wondered whether Sr and Jr were names actually used by Trippe, or a designation created in later years by collectors to differentiate between the pointed back lites with levels and the flat back ones without levels. Does anyone know the answer?

Just as a point of interest, Trippe must have made lites for the fire engine and rescue market, because I once had a pair of RED lenses clearly marked Trippe and identical to the clear lenses.

[1913Moline]

Has anyone ever seen a photo of any 30's era original car equipped with Trippe Lights. These babies were made for over the road trucking as an aftermarket addition. Now it seems that they are accepted as "stock equipment" on classic era cars.

Am I off base on this? I have seen Pilot Ray lights in Auburn factory photos, but have never seen a Trippe light on any company photos.

Greg

[Guest JT]

I ran across a photo of Barney Oldfield accepting delivery of a 1940 120 Packard with a single Trippe light in the B.R Kimes book. I'm guess that was a dealer installed accessory and not considered factory , it seems the factory acc. list only shows super ray in 1940. I also thought Trippe lights were thought of as not appropriate on a car after about 1939.

[Restorer32]

My 1932 Packard Accessory Catalog shows what is identified as a Trippe Light mounted to a 1932 Model 900. Also offers Lorraine lights which were steerable.

[1913Moline]

I have seen a single light made by Trippe which mounted to the cross bar between the springs. It has a large cast support bracket which is plated.

My comments about Trippe lights were referring to the dual lights which mount of the bumper brackets which have a strange knurled nut to clamp them on. Look in the Kimes Packard book. It is full of Packards back to the 1920's with these on them. Somewhere, I read that these were produced as truck fog/driving lights and were popular in the 1940's. Maybe I am wrong and some auto makers offered these as accessories. I am quite sure that Pierce-Arrow did not.

Greg

[Guest stude8]

The "Srange knurled nut" was intended to be theft proof to avert petty thieves from ripping off the lights with standard hex wrenches, you needed the proprietary splined socket from Trippe to get them loose. The mounting bracket was cast such that the nut was surrounded by metal to keep you from using a pipe wrench or vise grip plier (Not invented yet?) to attack the splined nut.

I recall "Pilot ray" lamps in early 1930's Studebaker accessory catalogs but not Trippe. Stude8

[Guest Teamsterdug]

See attached picture of the Jr.'s and the following site for the Sr.'s on the same car. Trippe Light (Sr.'s) Trippe Jr.'s have a slightly smaller diameter lens than Sr.'s. The bucket itself is smaller on the Jr.'s also. I've had them both on my '38. They are considered auxilary lights and were a big help in an age of 6volt original equipped lighting. They really do make a difference too in how much light is thrown out in front of you. At the same time the quaint 6 volt glow is not blinding to oncoming traffic.

[Restorer32]

Interesting thread. I spent my lunch hour paging thru Hugo Pfau's book on Coachbuilt Packards. Not one original pic of a Packard sporting Trippes though several pics of "restored" cars showed them of course.